It is a great honor to have been re-elected as your Mayor for a second term. Throughout my brief political career, which only began in 2000 as an anti-merger and later demerger activist, I have had the support of so many dedicated and hard working people who believed in a noble cause. Whether that cause was fighting to get our town back, helping to rebuild it or striving to make it the best town on the island, the one constant has been the support of so many of you. For that I am very grateful.

We have accomplished much in the past four years and the town is in far better shape today than it was when it was reconstituted following the borough years. However, in our rush to do the most critical things, we never had the luxury of putting together a long-term strategic plan for the town. With the help of the members of council we have begun to build that plan. Rest assured that we will not put anything on hold while the plans are being developed. There are already many new initiatives in the works and they will not be delayed but once the plan is in place future projects will be evaluated based on our goals, priorities and long term vision. At the appropriate time, residents will be consulted and their input incorporated into our shared vision.

As always, I invite you to contact me by e-mail, phone or even when you see me around town to discuss any issues you may have.

In the last 15 months since being elected to Council and taking over the Finance portfolio, I have become intimately acquainted with the town’s budget and its needs. It is my opinion that our town was designed around a faulty premise. The premise being that we would be a community made up predominantly of single family homes, with no commercial base, no high rises and very few households. The end result is a town that despite having average home prices of one million dollars, has one of the highest mill rates on the island and is still unable to afford amenities common to towns of much less wealth. We do not have, nor can we afford a library. We do not have nor can we afford a sports complex. We do not have nor can we afford an arena. In towns across North America, these are not luxuries, but common municipal buildings.

The math is simple, the fewer the number of homeowners that have to carry the burden of financing the town, the greater that burden is to each homeowner.

Today, we are faced with the question of redeveloping the old fire station. This is a historic opportunity to redress a critical design failure in our town. If we rezone the current site for a 16 storey residential high rise, we stand to earn $ 4.16 million up front on the sale of the land, a further $ 760,000 in transfer taxes as the units are sold, and  recurring local property taxes of approximately $ 365,000 per year. 

The sale price of the land and the one time transfer taxes represent about a third of our current debt. At $ 80,000 per year to finance each million dollars of debt the new money, if applied to our debt, would free up approximately $ 385,000 / year. Add this to the recurring tax revenue of $ 365,000/yr generated by this building and you have about
$ 750,000 /year in extra revenue to add to our current budget of $ 12.56 million. This is nearly 6% of our current local budget. The effect of one building on our finances is huge and impossible to replicate otherwise.

What of the nature of our town? Will a high rise diminish our town and detract from its garden community feel? Yes. A high rise will definitely have an impact on the immediate surroundings. You can’t hide a 16 storey building any more than you can hide your nose. The question as I see it is, will it be a net benefit or loss to the town? From my point of view, I am looking at water mains that break in the middle of the night because they are over 50 years old, streets that need to be rebuilt and or repaved, sewers that are in a state of disrepair that need to be fixed, lamp posts that need to be replaced, sidewalks with cracks that need to be fixed. These are not luxuries; these are fundamental elements of a proper town. Will these things be fixed without this high rise? Yes. They are being addressed now through a combination of grants and debt. I would prefer to have the necessary revenue so that we don’t have to count on grants and so that we can avoid burdening our town with debt.

We have a beautiful town. If we share the burden of its maintenance with an additional 94 homeowners in a luxury building, we will be able to maintain and enhance our beautiful town while keeping our tax burden at a comfortable level. It’s the responsible thing to do.

Thank you for trusting me with a second term.

Although I have been re-elected by acclamation, I can assure all that I intend to continue working on improving our quality of life in Hampstead and continue improving the urban planning as a portfolio chair. The experience of the past four year will come in handy.

One of the challenges we will be dealing with soon is the desire to move to a new Town Hall as well as the redevelopment of the fire station on Macdonald. I am very excited about my new Public Security portfolio and I look forward to get started on improving our residents’ safety and security by providing all residents with ideas and tips for a better and safer environment and introducing measures such as a neighbourhood watch as a very effective way for residents to volunteer for their bloc safety. The neighbourhood Volunteer Citizens on Cars and Bikes Patrol is one I would like to see implemented in our town. Although I would like to believe we can put this program in place, we need to encourage residents’ response to participate and volunteer.

I will always make myself always available in a timely manner should you have any questions or comments.

“Your concern is my priority”

Chair, Public Works Committee
Co-Chair, Environment Committee
Co-Chair, Parks Committee
Member, Demolition Committee
Mayor's 4th substitute, Agglomeration Meetings

I am extremely proud to have been elected to represent our citizens. Choosing to run for re-election was an easy decision. For several years, I have been actively participating with Community Volunteer Work. Aside form my constant presence in the community, assisting on Hampstead’s Public Security and Traffic Committees, spearheading the Little League Baseball Program for over 8 years, I have been an active Board Member of 2 local public institutions stemming as far back as 1994.

Upon being elected in 2006, I utilized my same passion that I have given to community organizations, towards our town. In very little time at Council, I have helped our Town by implementing substantial improvements to our services and infrastructure.

As Public Works Portfolio Chair, the following improvements have taken place under my stewardship:

• Improved recycling program and the implementation of larger bins. Hampstead is now the 5th best municipality in the Greater Montreal area.
• Signing of a 6-year collective agreement with the unionized employees.
• Replacement of antiquated Public Works vehicles.
• Clean-up and revamping of the Town’s Public Works yard.
• Repaving, rehabilitation, and rebuilding of many streets and sidewalks.
• Renewing and replacing of many of the Town’s sewers and water pipes.
• Improved relationship between unionized employees and administration.
  

My dedication to our Town goes well beyond Public Works:

• Due to my experience as a Bank Manager, I scrutinized our budget every year; so that we consistently reduced our taxes and almost all residents enjoyed a 1% decrease in 2009.
• As an active Councillor, I have attended nearly all Council meetings and have participated in Community events or represented our Town outside the community as well.
• In collaboration with Héma-Québec, I organized and chaired the Hampstead Blood Drive, where, in our recent 3rd annual event resulted in almost double the amount of donors from the 1st event.
• In conjunction with the local Police station and our Public Security department, I frequently patrolled our streets when the Town was experiencing the influx of home robberies and vandalism of parked cars.
• Even before I was elected into Council in 2006, I sat on the Public Security and Traffic committees.
• Council Representative, Hampstead Pension Committee
• Co-Chair, Hampstead Parks Committee
  

Looking ahead, as the Commissioner for Public Works, I will continue to work to improve our Town’s infrastructure. As the Commissioner for Information & Technology (IT), I will look into improving on and reducing our costs related to our website, server access, etc.  As Co-Commissioner for Environment, I will look into reducing our garbage program, improving our recycling and exploring all possibilities for a composting program. In conjunction with my IT responsibilities, I will look into reducing our paper usage and look into a paperless program for all Council & Caucus items. 

With all of my responsibilities as your elected representative, I, along with my esteemed colleagues on Council, will ensure that my second mandate will produce equally positive results for our town while ensuring that our spending is scrutinized. I will do my part to ascertain that the level of service and quality of life, that we have enjoyed living in our Garden Community, is maintained or improved upon and I intend on serving my community for years to come. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Dear friends,

A few years ago, Rabbi Chaim Steimetz of TBDJ Synagogue gave a sermon that really moved me. Entitled "The Lost Art of Hello", he quoted the Mishna, which encourages us to "greet everyone with a pleasant face."  He talked about community and how just saying ‘good morning', ‘hello' and ‘good day' are simple starts to bringing people closer together. He also expressed how sad it was that "true neighbourhoods" where people actually know their neighbours no longer exist.  According to sociologist, Ferdinand Tönnies, small towns are supposed to do things differently because the community is an end to itself. We are living in the suburbs because we love it. I wondered what would happen if I started saying ‘Hello' in Hampstead. Well, I've gotten a few strange looks.

As the councillor responsible for the Communications and Community Service and Recreation (CSR) portfolios, part of my council responsibility is to help strengthen our sense of community and foster community spirit.  As I went door-to-door in the last election campaign, I became aware that many neighbours don't even realize that they are having the same issues. If we talk to each other and work together, we can build a stronger, better Hampstead.
 
The first step is communications. Our newsletter, website and 'eHampstead' Web flash service (To join, please click here) help keep everyone well informed about what's going on in the community and better aware of the programs and activities we offer.

Being informed, however, is only the first step. Our CSR Department works very hard to plan a wide range of activities that appeal to all Hampsteaders and we encourage you to participate. For example, this Saturday, May 28th at dusk, we will have our first ever "Classic under the Stars" movie night at Hampstead Park, where we will present the iconic film, Casablanca. 

For those looking for a more active role, we also have volunteering opportunities for every age group. We are lucky to have built relationships with several high schools so that teens - our future leaders - learn the importance of giving back to their community. But, we need the continued support of all residents to ensure the success of these activities. You can make a difference by volunteering at special events, coaching or managing a sports team or sponsoring benches and trees to commemorate personal milestones.
 
Finally, we are in the beginning phases of planning the 100th anniversary celebration of the Town we love. I welcome your suggestions, ideas, and most importantly, your participation.  Please contact me at bfeigenbaum@hampstead.qc.ca to join the planning committee or just to say ‘hello'. And on that note, inspired by my Rabbi, I am continuing in my project of saying ‘hello' in Hampstead. I encourage you all to do the same. I promise, I will say ‘hi' back!

Bonnie Feigenbaum